Fontaine Appointed CIO and General Manager, Information Technology For Mercedes-Benz USA

MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 5 -- Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) announced the appointment of Astrid Fontaine to general manager, information technology at the company's Montvale, N.J. headquarters, effective immediately. In her new position, Fontaine will be MBUSA's chief information officer responsible for IT strategy and managing all activities and resources relative to information technology for the company.

Fontaine's most recent position was general manager, e-business, where she was responsible for organization-wide e-business strategy, coordinating all e-business activities.

Previously, Fontaine served as executive assistant to Professor Juergen Hubbert, DaimlerChrysler Board of Management member for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and smart. She worked on overall strategic planning and organization in coordination with the DaimlerChrysler Board of Management, Shareholder Committee and Supervisory Board.

From 1995-1997, Fontaine served as manager of strategic projects for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and commercial vehicle issues in the NAFTA regions and South America. In 1997, she became executive assistant to the vice president of corporate controlling, Stuttgart, where she helped to expand the corporate controlling team and established communication processes.

Upon joining DaimlerChrysler AG in 1994, Fontaine was accepted in the International Management Associate Program, where she spent time in Stuttgart, Germany, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.

Fontaine holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering and business administration from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. A native of Saarland, Germany, Fontaine currently resides in Manhattan.